Where There is Nothing

William Butler Yeats was born near Dublin in 1865, and was encouraged from a young age to pursue a life in the arts. He attended art school for a short while, but soon found that his talents and interest lay in poetry rather than painting. He became an instrumental figure in the "Irish Literary Revival" of the 20th Century that redefined Irish writing. Yeats was a complex man, who struggled between beliefs in the strange and supernatural, and scorn for modern science. He was intrigued by the idea of mysticism, yet had little regard for Christianity. In 1899 Yeats helped found the Irish National Theatre Society, which later became the famous Abbey Theatre of Dublin. "Where There is Nothing" was written in collaboration with Lady Augusta Gregory and Douglas Hyde in 1902.